Why is it nonsense? Rosenthal is merely claiming that the Phillies won’t have much flexibility to acquire impact players if they need to, which is relevant for any team. Especially a team coming off 4 NL East titles and are set to win another if they aren’t hammered by injuries. He’s not saying they’re definitely going to need replacements, just pointing out the lack of flexibility they have.

I meant the nonsense that sprouted up as soon as Chase Utley’s knee acted up — Michael Young’s name couldn’t get thrown around fast enough. It’s the same stuff all over — someone gets hurt in Spring Training and immediately people start speculating on trades that have no reason to happen.

“The Phillies have a great rotation and a good offense, but that pen could bring them down.”

I’m a Braves fan and I usually enjoy hearing things like that about a rival club, but I really have no idea why it’s being blown up. Madsen is one of the best setup men in baseball and Lidge proved last year he can still pitch at a high level. I don’t expect Contreras to repeat his ERA from last year, but he’s a solid option for the 6th, 7th innings. With that rotation, middle relief isn’t likely to be an issue and they’ve got a pretty good back end.

To be honest, I’m more comfortable with the Phillies pen than I am the Braves.

well, the Braves pen looks like it COULD be great. Some flashes of brilliance last year from Medlan & Minor. I think the Phillies Pen gave up key runs last year in the playoffs, so that’s why people are suspicious of it. As long as Madson and Lidge are healthy, the pen is stable because, as you point out, the rotation will not put heavy demands on the pen. Back in the Moyer/Myers/Kendrick days the pen was better but also taxed.

Minor’s gonna be the Braves 5th starter, Medlen will probably return around late August from Tommy John surgery. The pen options are Kimbrel, Venters, O’Flaherty, Moylan, Linebrink, Sherrill, Proctor, Martinez, Kawakami, and Brandon Beachy.

It’s going to be tough for Kimbrel and Venters to replace what Wagner and Saito did last year, but they’re extremely talented young guys. My only worry is their control, because both are pretty much unhittable.

Agree with Tyler, he would move someone or swap something to get it done. Utley has a sore knee, no replacement needed there, and Domonic Brown dont need a replacement because he wasnt gonna start anyway!!

Pagan is the man… I have thought for the last several years that he would be special and last year he was able to prove it. He hits for decent average with great OBP, has power to the gaps (2Bs, 3Bs) and can hit his share of homers, too. Additionally, he has great speed and great defense. He may not be Carlos Beltran 5 years ago, but I’d say that comparisons to Andrew McCutchen, Shane Victorino, and perhaps Carl Crawford in the near future would be fair.

His career reminds me a lot of Martin Prado’s. Seems to always hit, yet just recently became a starter and is now flourishing. If Pagan can take more walks, I can see him turning into a top 3 center fielder, sure. Even as a Braves fan I hope the Mets make him a part of their future, really enjoy watching him play. If he can handle CF half as good as he can RF, Mets fans may soon forget about Beltran anyway.

Remember that one year where the Braves made the playoffs with Melky, McLouth, Ankiel, Diaz, Blanco, and Hinske in the outfield and were near the bottom in the league in production out of LF and CF? Pitching can do some crazy things….

The Mariners center fielder would fit the bill for Philly, but he’s making more than the minimum at about $5 million per year. He’s a righty who should hit better in Philly than Seattle, especially if they figure out why he had so many stomach problems last year. Seattle would need a good player in return however, as Guti’s a 2-5 win player getting paid like a 1 win player.

The M’s could then put Ackley in the outfield right away and forget about waiting until he can play a passable second base.